


Marelin

by rionaleonhart



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Inspired by Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-30
Updated: 2011-10-30
Packaged: 2019-07-07 06:13:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15902511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rionaleonhart/pseuds/rionaleonhart
Summary: MerlinAU. In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young mare. Her name? Twilight Sparkle, actually.





	Marelin

Twilight Sparkle has picked a very bad day to come to Canterlot.

Well, yes, technically any day would be a bad day for her to come to Canterlot. She’s a unicorn. But apparently there’s to be a royal proclamation this evening, and apparently everypony is expected to be there, and apparently they all need to dress smartly.

Twilight doesn’t exactly have any smart clothes. And she really can’t risk standing out in the crowd because, as previously mentioned, she’s a unicorn. She’s been perfecting her horn-hiding spell for months now, and she’d never have set hoof in this place if she didn’t know it worked, but still.

The less attention she can attract from royalty, the better.

“So do you know where I could find some new clothes?” she asks the bright pink pony who practically pounced on her the moment she crossed the Canterlot border and immediately started telling her everything that was going on, which is useful, don’t get her wrong, but also kind of weird.

“Absolutely-dutely!” the pink pony chirps. “Just ask Lady Rarity!”

“Lady Rarity?” Twilight asks, taken aback. “But – I mean, isn’t she the Queen’s ward? I’m meant to just walk up and ask a member of the royal family to give me some of her clothes?”

“No, silly!” the pony says, with a laugh. “She makes clothes.”

“Why?” Twilight says, frowning. “It’s not like she needs to earn any money.”

The pony shrugs. “It’s her hobby. She won’t make you pay.”

Twilight isn’t at all sure about this. The Queen’s ward makes clothes and gives them to unknown ponies for nothing? It all sounds very dubious, and this pony seems kind of odd.

But it’s worth a try. Assuming she doesn’t get caught and swarmed by guards and executed the moment she steps into the castle. Why does avoiding the attention of the most dangerous royal have to involve directly interacting with another?

“All right, I’ll try asking her,” she says. “Thank you.”

“No problem!” the pony says, brightly.

“I’m Twilight Sparkle, by the way,” Twilight adds. “What’s your name?” This is largely a ploy to save face later; if Lady Rarity _doesn’t_ actually make formal dresses for everypony in Canterlot, Twilight is going to seem a lot less crazy if she can say Balloony Weirdtail sent her.

“Oh, no,” the pony says, suddenly looking very serious, “I can’t tell you that. You could tell somepony I was here.”

“I could still tell somepony you were here,” Twilight points out, perplexed. “I could say you were the pink pony with the balloon cutie mark, even if I didn’t know your name.” She pauses. “Wait, why don’t you want anypony to know you were here?”

Balloony Weirdtail puts her face very close to Twilight’s. It’s kind of uncomfortable. “I’ve been _banished_ ,” she intones, in a dramatic whisper.

“Really?” Twilight asks, barely managing to keep herself from sounding too hopeful. Is Balloony a unicorn in disguise as well? “Why?”

“I get twitches sometimes,” Balloony whispers, her eyes going very wide and round. “They predict the future. Queenie thought it was an _eensy-weensy_ bit too close to magic, so – whee! Banished!”

No. Balloony is not a unicorn in disguise; she is just crazy. Also, Twilight isn’t sure ‘whee’ is an appropriate sound effect. “So why did you come here? You could be killed, right?”

“I know,” Balloony says, with a grin, “but the cupcakes Mr and Mrs Cake sell here are the _bestest cupcakes ever_.”

“Uh,” Twilight says, “okay.”

She doesn’t realise she’s been backing away until Balloony clears the distance between them in a single alarming bound. “Anyway, it was super great to meet you, Twilight Sparkle!” she near-sings. “Maybe we’ll see each other again!”

Maybe they’ll see each other again.

Still, at least she’s banished.

“Uh, yeah, that’d be great,” Twilight says, glancing left and right. “I’d better... go.”

-

The guards in the castle let Twilight pass when she says she’s there to see Lady Rarity about some clothes, so who knows? Maybe Balloony was telling the truth. Twilight still isn’t totally convinced, though, and she pauses at the lady’s chamber door, bracing herself for the possibility of seriously embarrassing herself in front of royalty.

Twilight taps on the door with a hoof.

There’s a not inconsiderable pause, and then an “Enter!”, and then something that Twilight really hopes isn’t hysterical sobbing because otherwise this encounter could be even more awkward than anticipated. She’s come too far to back out now, though.

“Hello?” Twilight asks, walking into the chamber. “Ma’am? Lady Rarity? I was told—”

“ _Don’t look at me!_ ”

Right. This doesn’t seem the most promising start, but who knows? Twilight casts around for the source of the shriek, and her eyes fall upon the screen in one corner of the room, standing next to a crimson couch. “Uh. I can’t?”

A pony walks out from behind the screen: a very beautiful pony, pure white and purple-tailed. A spangled belt of gold cloth is draped over her mane. “Oh, it’s a disaster! What am I to do?”

There is a pause.

“Sorry,” Twilight ventures, “but _what’s_ a disaster, exactly?”

“I was just trimming my mane in preparation for the royal proclamation,” the pony says, “and the scissors slipped, and – and – ” She shakes her head and the cloth falls to the floor, exposing an exquisitely coiffed mane. “ _Look at me!_ ” she wails, slightly contradicting her earlier outburst. “I’ll be the laughing stock of Canterlot!”

Twilight squints very hard at the mane. It continues to be perfect. “Well, it looks fine to me.”

With an anguished cry, the pony claps a hoof to her forehead, and—

It’s really just instinct—

Twilight magically moves the couch over, so the dramatically-collapsing pony lands on it instead of the floor.

The white pony gasps, and there’s a tiny, horrible pause. Twilight realises with a lurch that in her own shock she’s let the illusion concealing her horn drop. She quickly covers it up again, but of course it’s far too late to smooth this over.

“But, darling,” the pony breathes, “you’re a _unicorn_.”

Twilight feels sick. She came to Canterlot to _learn_ , she was prepared to risk everything for the sake of her education, and now she hasn’t even touched a book and she’s going to be executed.

“Please don’t tell anyone,” she says, quickly. “I know I shouldn’t have come here. I’ll leave. I’ll go back home and I’ll never bother anyone in Canterlot again. Please, I know I’m a unicorn, but I’m not a bad pony, I _swear_ , and I – I really don’t want to die.”

The pony slips off the couch and begins walking towards her. Twilight takes two steps back.

“I’ll go right now,” Twilight says. “I promise. Just please don’t call the guards.”

“Oh, my dear,” the pony says, and she nuzzles Twilight’s neck. Twilight starts a little in surprise. “Of course I wouldn’t have you killed.”

“Really?” Twilight asks, the weight lifting from her stomach. “Great! Thank you so much; I won’t forget this. I’ll leave straight away.” She starts towards the door.

“You will do no such thing,” the pony says, firmly. For a moment Twilight thinks she’s going to die after all, but then the pony gestures towards the couch and says, “You don’t have to run away; I’m not going to tell anyone. Now, why don’t you take a seat and tell me how you came to be in Canterlot?”

-

The Lady Rarity (“Just ‘Rarity’, please”) keeps touching a hoof to her forehead throughout their conversation; Twilight assumes she’s still feeling selfconscious about her manecut, which, incidentally, still looks absolutely fine.

“...plus I knew the library in the castle was the most extensive in Equestria,” Twilight finishes. “I mean, I know you need to apply to be let in, but it has to be worth trying. So I practised hiding my horn, although obviously not _enough_ , and then I came here.”

“Books?” Rarity asks, tilting her head to one side. “It seems such a small thing to risk one’s life for.”

“Oh, no, there’s nothing more important than learning,” Twilight says, earnestly. _It’s better than cakes,_ she manages not to add. “I’ve always wanted to study in Canterlot, ever since I was a little filly. I was devastated when I heard about the magic ban.”

“Well,” Rarity says, still looking a little dubious, “I wish you all the considerable luck you’ll need. Do tell me if there’s any way I can help.”

“Actually,” Twilight says, “that’s why I came here. I didn’t know there was going to be a royal proclamation today, and, well, I don’t really have anything suitable to wear.”

“Oh, is that all?” Rarity asks, delighted. She leaps up and walks over to the wardrobe spanning an entire wall of the room. “I’m afraid I don’t have time before the proclamation to make something new, but certainly I’ll find the material to make you something afterwards. I’m sure for now there’ll be something to suit you in here.”

“You don’t have to make—”

“Really, of course I do. A figure like yours and no suitable clothes? It’s simply inexcusable.” She starts pushing clothes aside, searching through the wardrobe. “No... no... that’s the perfect cut, but – no, it wouldn’t work with your colour...”

“I don’t mi—”

“Of course,” Rarity adds, poking her head back out through the curtain of clothes, “you could wear a paper bag and you’d still look more appropriate than I will. This _atrocity_ of a manecut, _honestly_.”

“Your mane looks beautiful,” Twilight says, feeling painfully selfconscious, “and I would _take_ a paper bag. You don’t have to go to all this trouble.”

“Perfect!” Rarity trills, and she emerges from the wardrobe with an elegant blue dress. “I could use this as a basis, actually. After the proclamation, bring this dress back to me and I’ll make you something more personalised.”

“You really don’t have to...” Twilight begins, but then she gives up. Rarity is evidently determined to dress her perfectly, whether she wants it or not. “Thank you so much, Rarity. If there’s anything I can do for you, please just ask.”

“Well,” Rarity says, suddenly looking quite mischievous, “there is _one_ thing.”

-

“I really don’t see a difference,” Twilight says, frowning.

“Nonsense; it’s perfect!” Rarity exclaims, preening delightedly in front of the mirror. “Thank you so much; you’ve absolutely saved my reputation.”

“You saved my life,” Twilight points out. “I didn’t think fixing your mane was too much to ask.”

“You are the most _wonderful_ pony.” Rarity turns around to look at her. “Tell me, do you have anywhere to stay in Canterlot?”

Twilight blinks. “Well, uh, I was going to stay at the inn tonight and then start looking for some work...”

“Oh, we can’t have that,” Rarity interrupts her. “Why don’t you live here with me?”

“With you?” Twilight asks, startled.

Stay in the royal palace, with the Queen’s ward? It isn’t exactly keeping her head down. On the other hand, Rarity knows she’s a unicorn, and she obviously doesn’t care; she’s comfortable enough with magic to let Twilight use it on her mane, even. If Twilight lived with anyone else and accidentally used magic in front of them, if she let her illusion drop in her sleep... well. Someone else might tell the Queen about her. Rarity won’t.

“Really?” Twilight asks. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure,” Rarity says, smiling. “I’m not about to let go of the one pony in Canterlot who can reverse a manecut. Come along; I’ll give you the tour.”

-

The castle is huge and magnificent, and as Rarity shows her around Twilight feels constantly as if she’s going to be arrested just for looking out of place. She tries to walk as carefully as she can across a particularly luxurious cream carpet, afraid of leaving hoofmarks, and she’s so busy watching her feet that she walks straight into the wall.

Rarity gives her a strange look. Twilight flushes and tries to adopt the pose of a pony who hasn’t just whacked her head against the Canterlot royal family tree, painted in gold leaf all the way along the corridor.

Rarity actually manages to take Twilight into the castle library as her guest, but because Twilight isn’t an official member yet she isn’t allowed to touch any of the books. All she can do is stare at the thousands of titles lining the walls and imagine what the covers might contain. It is a torment. She’s itching to steal a book with her magic – just _one!_ – but Rarity’s been so good to her; she can’t betray her trust like that.

If they stay here much longer, though, she may not be able to resist.

“Maybe we should move on,” Twilight says, with a final longing glance at the shelves.

-

When they venture out through the front gate of the castle, their tour is suddenly cut short because the kingdom is being attacked by a rainbow.

That’s what it seems like, at least. After a moment, the high wind dies down and the rainbow blur shooting around resolves itself into a blue pegasus pony, who lands and sends a cocky grin in their direction.

“Hey, Rarity,” she calls.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Rarity mutters.

Twilight stares. It seems impossible, but she _is_ a pegasus pony, and she _does_ have a rainbow-striped mane, and...

“Is that the princess?” Twilight asks Rarity, quietly. “Princess Rainbow Dash?”

“Hard to believe, isn’t it?”

Twilight lets her gaze travel over the princess’s unruly mane, her mud-spattered hindquarters. “She doesn’t look very regal.”

“Do you think I haven’t told her that?” Rarity asks, rolling her eyes. “I don’t understand it. She simply doesn’t care.”

“Anypony brave enough to take me on?” Princess Rainbow Dash calls to the world in general, spreading her wings and leaping into the air to hover. “Five laps around the castle. I’ll even give you a head start.”

“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Rarity says, with a nod to Twilight, “I simply _must_ get her cleaned up before the royal proclamation.”

-

The proclamation is to take place in a large field set some way back from the castle. As Twilight approaches, she notices that the gathering crowd is centred around a wooden platform; she assumes at first that it’s a temporary construction, but when she gets closer she can see the weather-wear on it. There’s what looks like a small windowless cabin on the far side.

She’s a little early, and she’s reached the stage of trying to mentally name the monarchs of Canterlot in chronological order by the time something actually happens.

A hush falls over the crowd, beginning with the edge nearest the castle and spreading over everypony else. Trumpets blow and the assembled ponies part as Queen Celestia walks forth, magnificently beautiful save for the deep, ugly scar on her forehead. Twilight averts her eyes, not wanting to be caught staring.

The stories say that the Queen tore her own horn out after the magical accident that killed her sister, the one that turned her against magic forever. Twilight thought they were only stories, but now, seeing that scar...

She thinks about what it would feel like to have her horn wrenched out by the root, and she shudders, and then the Queen’s eyes fall upon her. Twilight freezes, half-convinced that the Queen can somehow hear her thoughts. She quickly mentally double-checks that the illusion spell masking her horn is still in place.

The Queen smiles at her and moves on.

Something about that scar on her forehead is still bothering Twilight, something more than the horrible circumstances in which it came to be. Her eyes fall on Rarity, walking head-held-high behind her guardian, and she realises: Rarity has a forehead scar as well. It’s much cleaner and less visible, mostly hidden behind her mane, but it’s there.

-

“My loyal citizens,” the Queen says, standing on the wooden platform at the centre of the crowd. She doesn’t speak especially loudly, but in the absolute silence of her subjects Twilight can hear every word.

The princess stands proudly on her left side, Rarity on her right. Princess Rainbow Dash may share her mother’s wings and many-coloured mane, but with Rarity’s pure white coat, regal bearing and matching scar it’s almost hard to believe she isn’t the true heir to the throne.

“First, I would like to welcome a new pony to Canterlot,” the Queen says, and she actually _inclines her head towards Twilight_ and it’s only by focusing on her unthreatening words that Twilight can keep herself from being seized by blind panic. “Rarity tells me that Twilight Sparkle has come here to learn. I hope that you will all make her feel welcome and assist her in her studies.”

A few ponies near Twilight turn to look at her. She ducks her head and grins awkwardly, embarrassed.

“Sadly,” the Queen says, her tone changing, becoming stern, and the ponies all turn to face her again, “as one pony joins us, another must leave.” She casts her eyes slowly over the crowd, from one side to another. “I do not intend to give their names, because I believe they should have a second chance, but a family on the outskirts of the kingdom has been found to be harbouring a unicorn.”

There’s a ripple in the crowd: stirring, muttering, a collective intake of breath. Two guards walk out from the cabin and past the royal trio to the front of the platform, leading a teal unicorn by a rope around her neck. She looks young, barely an adult, and absolutely terrified. Her horn is bound tightly in some kind of silvery material; it must prevent her from using magic somehow. Her eyes dart all over the crowd.

Another pony walks up the steps onto the platform, hooded and carrying an axe in her mouth. Twilight backs up instinctively and bumps into a stallion.

No, no, no. When she’d heard there was going to be a royal proclamation, she hadn’t expected _this_.

“I cannot tell you how much I regret this,” the Queen says, and the thing is she sounds _sincere_ , like this is the most heartwrenching thing in the world for her but she really has no choice, “but the unicorn, of course, must die.”

-

Twilight walks away from the scene of the execution in a half-daze, trying very hard not to cry. She closed her eyes, she turned away, but her ears were still open, and the _sound_ —

It’s so weird. Unicorns _built_ this place. Its ruler is a unicorn, or was. Princess Luna was a unicorn. And now anypony with magic is in danger here.

She shouldn’t have come.

“Twilight?” a voice asks.

Twilight turns to see Rarity walking towards her, looking concerned.

“I’m sorry,” Rarity says. “I should have warned you. ‘Royal proclamation’ is usually a euphemism.”

“It’s okay,” Twilight says, forcing a smile. She glances around to make sure nopony else is within hearing distance. Nopony is, but she lowers her voice anyway. “I’m fine.”

“I could ask Celestia to excuse you. A few particularly sensitive ponies—”

“No,” Twilight says, quickly. Rarity looks a little taken aback, and Twilight realises too late that the Queen’s ward probably isn’t used to being interrupted. “I mean – sorry – I can’t afford to seem ‘particularly sensitive’ here. I don’t want her wondering why.”

“Nopony wants to see another pony executed,” Rarity says. “Celestia knows that.”

“Then why does she make the entire kingdom watch?” Twilight asks. It comes out a little angrier than she’d intended.

Rarity tosses her head. “I’m not saying I _agree_ with her,” she says, “but she believes it’s the best way to save lives. If everypony sees the consequences, unicorns will stay away from Canterlot.”

“If she wants to save lives, she shouldn’t be executing anypony at all.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” Rarity demands. “I’ve _tried_ to reason with her, but she won’t hear it.” She pauses. “But she’s not a monster. If you ask to be excused from the executions, she’ll listen.”

Maybe Twilight will be excused from her own execution. That’d be nice. “Thank you, but I really can’t risk it.”

Rarity nods once. “Very well,” she says, and then, more gently, “Come along; you look like you need some rest.”

-

“It really is very kind of you to let me stay,” Twilight says, bedding down in her pile of blankets.

“Nonsense; don’t mention it,” Rarity says from in front of the mirror, where she’s carefully putting her mane in rollers. “It’s safer than having you stay with somepony who might not understand your... situation. I’m sure Applejack will be able to get a proper bed set up for you in the next couple of days.”

She brushes part of her mane back from her forehead, and Twilight sees the scar again, reflected in the mirror.

“Rarity?” Twilight asks. “Is it okay if I ask you something?”

“Feel free.”

“Were you a unicorn?”

There’s a short pause, and then Rarity drops down onto all fours again. “I was,” she says. “Evidently not any more.”

“But you’re Queen Celestia’s ward,” Twilight says, frowning a little. “She must have known—”

“I think Celestia was lenient to me _because_ I was her ward,” Rarity says, her tone now much less airy. “Others had to die, but surely _I_ could be freed from the corrupting influence of magic. Surely I could be allowed to live, if only my dangerous horn could be removed.”

Twilight almost doesn’t want to ask any more – it seems such a sore point for Rarity – but she can’t hold herself back. “Was that why you helped me?”

“If it’s safe for me to stay alive,” Rarity says, “why shouldn’t it be safe for you?”

-

Twilight sleeps poorly; she keeps dreaming of being dismembered by an axe-wielding mare, starting with her horn, and so she’s tired but not entirely displeased when bright early-morning sunlight suddenly floods across her eyelids, waking her.

“Rise and shine, sugar cube!” calls a voice.

Twilight crawls laboriously out of the pile of blankets, shakes herself into full wakefulness and then looks up. An orange pony is over by the huge windows, just finishing pulling the curtains open.

There’s a stirring noise and a groan, and then Rarity sits up in her bed, looking dishevelled and cranky. “I keep telling you, Applejack, I need my beauty sleep!”

“And _I_ keep telling _you_ , Miss Rarity,” Applejack retorts, “if you’re not up by six you’ve missed half the day already.”

Rarity casts a you-know-what-they’re-like glance in Twilight’s direction and rolls her eyes. “ _Maneservants_ ,” she says.

As Twilight has never had a servant and so cannot say with confidence that she knows what they are like, all she can do is smile awkwardly.

“And you must be Miss Rarity’s friend!” Applejack says, brightly. She drops into a quick bow. “I’m Applejack. Pleased to meetcha!”

“Uh,” Twilight says, slightly taken aback at being bowed to. “Nice to meet you, too, Applejack. My name’s Twilight Sparkle.”

“Well, Miss Twilight,” Applejack says (Twilight’s “Uh, just ‘Twilight’ is fine” seems to go unheard), “if you need anything, just holler.”

“You shouldn’t actually holler,” Rarity puts in, quickly. “But, if you _do_ need anything, please do feel free to ask at a civilised volume.”

-

In the mid-afternoon, Twilight is looking through the window of Mr and Mrs Cake’s shop, debating whether to go in (she’s a little wary of anything Balloony Weirdtail might recommend, but if these cupcakes are worth breaching a banishment order for they really _must_ be good), when Rarity catches her and pulls her aside.

“Twilight, could you be an absolute dear and fetch my prescription from the court physician on your way back tonight?” Rarity asks. “Her name’s Fluttershy; she’s a sweetheart. It’s just that Applejack’s busy with your bed, you see.”

Well, she does owe Rarity about a million favours, and it’d be useful to know where the physician lives. “Yeah, no problem.”

-

The court physician works in a tall, circular room, with jars and phials and bottles of remedies stacked up and up and up on a spiral shelf that runs around the wall. At first the place seems to be deserted, but as Twilight cranes her neck back to see how far up the shelving goes she catches sight of a yellow pegasus pony, flitting around near the top.

“Excuse me?” Twilight calls. “Fluttershy?”

There’s a frightened squeak, and a moment later a glass jar plunges down to shatter on the stone floor in front of her, scattering herbs everywhere. Twilight rears up in surprise.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” an anxious voice calls, and the pegasus pony drops down in front of her. “I’m sorry, that was my fault, I wasn’t concentrating, I should have been more careful – are you hurt?”

The poor pony looks so distraught that Twilight feels compelled to reassure her. “No, really, _I’m_ sorry. I shouldn’t have startled you. Let me fi—” and then she cuts herself off, because the only way she would be able to fix that jar is with magic, and that would _not_ be a good idea. She starts helping to gather up the herbs instead.

“You don’t have to—” the pony begins, but Twilight cuts her off.

“It’s fine, really. So are you Fluttershy?”

“Y-yes,” Fluttershy says, looking a little startled.

Twilight waits to be asked her name in return, but the thought of asking doesn’t seem to occur to Fluttershy, who starts nervously poking the glass shards one at a time into a little out-of-the-way pile with the tip of her hoof. After watching for a while, Twilight concludes that she’s going to have to introduce herself unprompted. “My name’s Twilight Sparkle. I’m here to pick up Rarity’s medicine.”

Fluttershy frowns slightly. “Lady Rarity’s medicine?”

Twilight nods. “That’s why I’m here.”

“Oh, no,” Fluttershy whispers, apparently to herself, “oh no, oh no.” She flies over to a table and starts flicking through a little book lying open on it, her voice somehow becoming more and more urgent without ever rising in volume. “Is Lady Rarity ill? Did she tell me? Did I forget? Oh, no, I _must_ have forgotten. Oh, I hope she isn’t too angry. It must be here _somewhere_...”

“Uh,” Twilight ventures, not sure how helpful it will be, “she asked me to pick up her prescription—”

“Her prescription!” Fluttershy somehow manages to exclaim quietly, her expression immediately clearing. She darts over to a nearby shelf and picks up a small glass bottle, which she sets down on the table. “Oh, thank goodness. I thought I’d made a terrible mistake.”

Twilight squints at the label on the bottle. It says ‘LADY RARITY’S MANESHINE’.

“She sent me to pick up her _manecare_ prescription,” she says, flatly.

Fluttershy, humming happily as she fetches a bag from a drawer, doesn’t seem to hear her.

“She’s kind of... obsessed,” Twilight says. “Isn’t she?”

“Oh,” Fluttershy says, ducking her head, “it wouldn’t be my place to say.”

-

Fluttershy seems to calm down a little after the prescription misunderstanding has been sorted out, and is happy to brief Twilight on where to find the important places outside the castle. Twilight also learns that Fluttershy is one of the ponies the Queen has excused from attending executions, because Fluttershy can’t bear watching them at all. She files this away in her mind; it’s not a sure thing, but if Fluttershy can’t watch executions maybe she wouldn’t give Twilight’s secret away. Maybe Fluttershy is a safe pony to be around.

When Fluttershy hears that Twilight is living in the castle, her eyes go strangely dreamy.

“I heard there’s a dragon in the vaults under the castle,” she says, as she measures out herbs into jars. “A real live dragon! I wish I could see it. I wonder what it’s like?”

-

Twilight wakes in the middle of the night, thinking.

What _would_ a dragon be like?

-

Twilight definitely, definitely can’t afford to make a habit of this. Magically distract the guards too many times and she’s guaranteed to get caught. But she wants to see a dragon, just _once_. They’re said to be almost extinct. This could be her only chance.

The route down to the vaults is more circuitous and better-guarded than Twilight was expecting. Is the dragon a prisoner? She supposes it must be; why would it choose to live down here? From what she remembers of her reading, dragons usually prefer to live in high-up places, mountain caves.

From what _else_ she remembers of her reading, dragons can breathe fire, and she finds herself feeling increasingly nervous as she descends all the many flights of stone steps. Still, by now she’s crept through all those guards and she’ll have to creep back again; there’s danger either way. She can’t bear the idea of wasting such a ridiculously reckless trip.

When the steps stop, Twilight finds herself looking down a long, roughly-hewn corridor of earth and rock. She keeps walking for what feels like ages, ducking her head to keep her ears from brushing the ceiling of the low passageway, and eventually she emerges into an enormous cave.

She blinks.

The dragon blinks back at her.

It’s not as impressive as she imagined it would be.

“Hey,” the dragon says, “who are you?” Twilight draws breath to answer, but he interrupts her. “I mean, uh, rarr! Beware! I am a great and fearsome dragon, and all will tremble at my claws!”

“Really?” Twilight asks, raising an eyebrow. “Because you look like a little kid to me.”

“Oh, yeah?” the dragon asks, folding his arms. “If I’m so not great and fearsome, why did Queen Celestia lock me up down here, huh?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight says. “There’s a lot she does that I don’t understand.” She looks at the shackle and chain tethering the dragon to the rock he’s sitting on; they look entirely too chunky and heavy for such a small creature. “But she definitely wanted to keep you here. Can you breathe fire? That’s kind of fearsome.”

The dragon draws breath and huffs out a tiny stream of green fire. He smirks proudly at her. Twilight, with some effort, manages not to laugh.

“So who are you?” the dragon asks. “I never see anyone down here. It’s _really_ boring.”

Twilight tries to imagine being locked up for the rest of her life with nothing to read and nothing to do and nobody to speak to. It’s an uncomfortable exercise. She quickly abandons it. “My name’s Twilight,” she says. “Twilight Sparkle.”

“Nice to meet you, Twilight,” the dragon says, not very fearsomely. “My name’s Spike.”

Twilight can’t help it; she snickers.

“What?” Spike demands, immediately defensive. “Spikes are scary! They’re all sharp and stuff.”

“All right,” Twilight says, waving a hoof, “sorry. I’ll admit your name’s probably more intimidating than mine.”

Her gaze is drawn back to the shackle. Could she break it with magic?

She shouldn’t. She won’t. She’s only just met Spike, and she doesn’t know enough about the situation to know exactly what the risk would be. For all she knows, he could be locked up here for an extremely good reason. Besides, if she got caught...

Anyway.

“I’ve read about dragons,” Twilight says. “Aren’t you supposed to bestow wise and sage advice upon whoever needs it?”

“I don’t know,” Spike says, frowning. “What kind of sage advice do you want me to bestow?”

“Well, I’m looking for a job. Any ideas?”

Spike shrugs. “Ask people, I guess?”

Dragons, Twilight decides, are overrated.

-

Twilight walks into the courtyard the next morning, blinking and yawning, to see Fluttershy out on what are presumably her delivery rounds, a bag of bottles slung around her neck.

Does the court physician really have to do the deliveries herself? Doesn’t she have someone to do that kind of thing for her?

Well, a great and fearsome dragon _did_ bestow upon Twilight the advice to ask for a job, and Fluttershy seems as good a place to start as any.

“Hey, Fluttershy!” Twilight calls, trotting to catch up with her.

Fluttershy turns with a little gasp, as if she’s expecting to be attacked, but then she sees Twilight and smiles awkwardly at her. “Oh, hello, Twilight.”

“I was wondering,” Twilight says, reaching her side, “are you looking for an assistant? Because I really need a job if I’m going to stay in Canterlot.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy says, pawing at the ground, “I’m sorry, Twilight. I can’t really afford to pay an assistant.” She hesitates. “Maybe you could ask Queen Ce—”

A streak of rainbow colours blasts past, and Fluttershy yelps in terror, and the next thing Twilight is aware of is struggling to extricate her tail from under Fluttershy’s side, both ponies having been knocked flat.

“I’m sorry!” Fluttershy squeaks, struggling back to her feet.

“No, it’s—” Twilight begins, before realising that Fluttershy isn’t looking at her. “Wait, who are you apologising to?”

“The – the princess,” Fluttershy mumbles. “I must have been in her way.”

Twilight stares at her for a moment, then turns to glare at the already-far-away princess shooting across the sky. “Who does she think she is?”

“Um,” Fluttershy says, nervously, “I think she thinks she’s the princess.” There’s a pause, and then she adds, even more nervously, “Be-because she’s the princess.”

“That’s no excuse for behaving like that!” Twilight exclaims.

“I really don’t want any trouble—”

But Twilight has already taken to her hooves. She’ll never catch up if they both keep moving, she knows, but the princess will have to land at _some_ point.

-

It occurs to Twilight only as she approaches the reclining Princess Rainbow Dash what a spectacularly bad idea this is.

No, seriously, this is a _really bad idea_. She can’t just tell off the princess of the realm! What if the Queen gets involved? What if—

No, she’s being ridiculous. The Queen is a busy mare. She has better things to do than talk to the pony who stepped incredibly out of line by scolding her daughter. She’s probably never going to take any interest in Twilight at all. You know, provided the whole not-getting-caught thing works out.

Still. It’s probably not a good idea.

But somehow, while she was coming to that conclusion, she’s already stepped forward and shouted “Hey!” at the princess.

You see, this is why she likes books. With a book at your hooves, you can get all the information you need and it’s really difficult to do anything incarceration-precipitatingly stupid before you’ve finished.

The princess frowns at her. “You’re the new pony in town, right? Twinkly Sparkle?”

That surprises Twilight; from what little she’s seen of the princess so far, she wouldn’t have thought she’d bother trying to remember her future subjects’ names. Even if she didn’t completely succeed. Twinkly Sparkle is a stupid name.

“Twilight,” she says.

“Whatever,” the princess says, stretching her wings. “What did you want to talk about?”

Twilight honestly has no idea whether the princess is trying to be polite or not here. “Uh,” she says, “I was walking with Fluttershy back there, and—”

“Oh,” the princess says, jumping to her hooves, “were you the guys I knocked over? Fluttershy’s okay, right?”

“She’s fine.”

The princess settles down again, propping her chin on her hoof and looking puzzled. “Okay, so what’s the problem?”

Twilight gives her a pointed look.

There’s a long pause.

The princess breaks into incredulous laughter. “ _Seriously?_ You followed me all the way here for an _apology?_ ”

“If you’re going to ascend to the throne,” Twilight says, frowning, “I think you should treat your subjects with respect.”

“Well, Twinkly Twilight, you’re gonna have to chase me farther than _that_.” She’s in the air in less than a second. “Catch me and maybe you’ll get your ‘sorry’. Seeya!”

She zooms off to the west, and Twilight, after a split-second’s startled hesitation, takes off full-speed after her.

-

The princess is definitely flying slower than she was before. Is she worn out? Is she taunting Twilight? Does she _want_ to be caught? Is this a game?

Twilight can’t figure it out. She just keeps running.

“C’mon, faster!” the princess calls over her shoulder, grinning. “Like, that speed you’ll _maybe_ get a ‘bad luck’. If you really want the royal apology, you’ll need to do a lot better than that.”

The muscles in Twilight’s legs are already starting to ache. She’s a scholar, not a racer. But she keeps going, because by this point it’s a matter of pride.

How far have they come now? Are they even still in the kingdom?

The princess winks at her and accelerates, blowing past the first trees of the—

Twilight digs her hooves into the ground, bringing herself to a sharp halt.

The Everfree Forest.

She’s read about this place.

The princess lands just inside the forest and turns around. “What,” she says, laughing, “you’re _scared?_ ”

She turns and keeps going at a gallop, vanishing into the gloom of the trees.

And Twilight—

This is such a bad idea—

Twilight follows her.

-

Well, this is just great. She’s lost the princess, she’s lost the way out of the forest, and now she’s probably going to get _eaten_ before she even has a chance to be executed. Because of some crazy mission for an _apology_. The princess was right to laugh.

Still, at least she can use her magic now that she’s alone. She promptly employs it for the purpose of hitting herself in the head several times with a broken-off branch.

It doesn’t really make her feel any better.

After a moment, she remembers that she can use the branch as a compass. She enchants it so the leafy end points north. Canterlot should be east of here, so she just has to go...

...through a massive thicket of ferocious-looking plantlife. _Great_.

She actually almost manages to get through unscathed, pushing the vines aside with her magic, but then she pokes her head out into a clearing and catches sight of a rainbow tail and drops all visible magic immediately without thinking, so of course the thorns spring straight back at her.

Twilight yelps in pain. Without magic, she’s going to be picking those thorns out of her flank for _hours_.

“Anyone there?” the princess yells at what Twilight feels is an unnecessary volume.

Twilight drags herself out of the last of the thicket, wincing. She looks to her right and sees clear daylight through thinning trees: Canterlot. She looks to her left and she sees why the princess was yelling.

Princess Rainbow Dash is caught in a giant spiderweb, facing away from her. She’s obviously struggling, but it’s no use; the owner of the web, presumably, has bound her tightly, leaving only her head and tail unwrapped. Said owner is nowhere to be seen.

“Twilight?” the princess yells. “Is that you? Little help here? I’m pretty sure the spider’s gonna be coming back soon.”

Right. The princess hasn’t exactly made the best first impression, but there’s a whole stableful of hay’s difference between ‘being kind of rude’ and ‘deserving to be eaten by a spider’.

“Hold on!” Twilight calls.

What can she do? The princess is facing away, so she won’t necessarily see if Twilight uses magic, but she’ll probably notice something strange is going on if the silk tying her up suddenly glows and unwraps itself. That’s not going to work.

Twilight focuses on the web. It’s spun between the trunks of two large trees. If she magically weakens the web at the points where it meets the trees...

“What are you _doing?_ ” the princess demands, when Twilight has almost finished thinning the web’s edges. For a heartstopping moment Twilight thinks she’s noticed the magic (should she still try to save her? should she run and leave her to be eaten? can she really make herself do that?), but instead: “I’m about to be a giant spider’s _lunch_ , and you’re just standing there and doing nothing?”

“Just waiting for the right moment, Your Highness.” If she can just get the last two threads...

“The right moment for _what?_ ” the princess shouts, and suddenly her voice becomes slightly less frustrated and quite a lot more frightened. “Okay, if you’re waiting for the right moment for dramatic effect: the spider’s coming back, so this is _probably it_.”

The spider, dark red and fanged and enormous, slowly crawls into view through the dense shade of the trees.

Okay, so she’s just going to have to hope she’s done enough.

Twilight quickly summons up her power and creates a thin layer of compressed air around her entire body; it should act as a barrier, if this works correctly, so she doesn’t get stuck to the web herself. She charges as fast as she can at the web and leaps.

Her front hooves hit Princess Rainbow Dash full in the back, she feels the web-threads snap at the edges, and she, the princess and the entire web come crashing down.

“MFRFLGLFRG,” the princess splutters, which Twilight takes to mean ‘I’m face-down in the mud right now and have no idea what’s going on, so now is probably the time to magically slice most of this inconvenient web off and use it to pin that spider to the forest floor’. Twilight takes the princess’s excellent advice, bucks her onto her back and takes off out of the Everfree Forest as fast as she can run.

-

Keep her head down. Keep her head down. She’s been telling herself and telling herself that she needs to avoid attracting royal attention, and... yeah, _that’s_ worked out. As if staying with the Queen’s ward wasn’t breaking her own rule _enough_ , then she had to save the princess’s life and get called to a personal audience with the Queen herself, attended by a select group of the most important ponies in the court.

She is really, really bad at this staying-out-of-trouble thing.

Queen Celestia stands from her throne as Twilight, her legs trembling, approaches. “Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight sort of squeaks.

And then the Queen of Canterlot actually _bows_ to her. This could not get any more surreal.

“You have saved my daughter’s life,” the Queen says, straightening up again. “My family and I are forever in your debt.”

Behind her, the princess, tapping her hoof impatiently on the ground, mutters something that sounds a lot like ‘coulda taken it on myself’ and ‘my _back_ , seriously’.

“Oh, uh, it was nothing,” Twilight says, glancing away and concentrating very hard on her horn-concealment spell.

“Fluttershy tells me that you have been looking for a job.”

Wait, what? Twilight looks sharply back at the Queen. The Queen smiles at her.

“I would be honoured, Twilight Sparkle,” the Queen says, “if you would accept the position of paid maneservant to my daughter.”

“What?” Twilight asks.

“ _What?_ ” the princess demands.

“Of course,” the Queen says, “the decision would rest entirely with you.”

Twilight stares.

Be Princess Rainbow Dash’s _maneservant_?

On the one hoof, Twilight bridles at the thought of being a servant to _anyone_ , and serving a spoiled, arrogant princess sounds especially not like fun, and this seems like it’s really pushing it on the not-getting-caught side of things. On the other... she does really, really need a job, and she’s almost definitely going to get castle library privileges if she’s looking after the first in line to the throne. And the Queen actually seems weirdly nice, if you forget about the part where she’d definitely have Twilight killed if she knew the truth.

“I’m fine on my own!” the princess protests. “I don’t _need_ a servant.”

“Oh, yes, you do, Princess,” Applejack growls.

The entire court turns to stare, Twilight among them. She hasn’t had much actual experience of maneservants before, but she’s read books and she is _almost certain_ they’re not supposed to address a member of the royal family like that.

“Or are you gonna clean your own horseshoes from now on?” Applejack demands, seemingly unaware of the stares or of the fact that Rarity, next to her, has pressed a hoof over her face in despair. “Because I can tell you, when you throw them all over your chamber floor, they don’t polish themselves. I’m Miss Rarity’s maneservant, Princess, and it should not be my job to clean up after you.”

There is a long, shocked silence.

“...Your Highness,” Applejack adds, suddenly abashed.

“I do apologise,” Rarity mutters into her hoof.

“Well, Twilight,” the Queen says, her voice amused, “I think Applejack for one would like you to accept the job.”

Really, it’s not _much_ more dangerous than staying with the Queen’s ward. She’ll just have to be careful. And the princess is annoying, yes, but she’s probably not _that_ bad.

“Your Majesty,” Twilight says, with a bow, “I would be honoured to accept.”

“You’re kidding, right?” the princess asks.

“When should I begin?”

“You’re kidding,” the princess says. “Right?”

-

“You know,” Twilight says, as she makes the princess’s (Princess Rainbow Dash? Rainbow Dash? Rainbow? Dash? She doesn’t really know what to call her now that she’s working for her) bed, “I’d say this counts as catching you. And I _think_ that means you owe me and Fluttershy an apology.”

Rainbow Dash laughs. “Yeah, okay. I’m meant to be looking for new knightmares; sort out the recruitment campaign for me and I’ll think about it.”

“Wait,” Twilight says, turning sharply to look at her. “You want me to _organise_ things?”

“Um, yeah, I guess,” Rainbow Dash says, frowning. “I don’t... reeeeally get why you sound so excited about it, but you can do basically all my organising for me if that’s what oils your cart.”

Twilight grins. Maybe this will work out.


End file.
